Curd treating apparatus



Nov. 15, 1949 E. c. DAMROW- 2,488,053

CURD TRATING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 28, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheetl l IN VEN TOR.

BY l

ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 15,. 1949 UNITED vS PAT ENT OFFI 2,488,053

CURD TRE'imG APPARTS l'Edward C. Daimw, Fond du Lac, Wis., assigior toD'amrow Brothers Companm -Fond du Lac,

Wis., a `corpnat'ion vof Wisconsin application october 28, 1921s, serialvoao'i 3'Claims. 11

The linventibr'i itrelates to curd treating apparatus. i Y

In 'my prior U. S Patent No. 2,086,353, dated July 6, J193W, there '-isYdisclosed an apparatus for forking curd in which the arms of the forkhave loosely pivotally 4i'noun'ted at their lower ends what may `betermed blades, plows, shovels, or forks which are moved over the bottomof the curd vat in rotary paths as the whole fork is movedbak'a'idfth'elative to 'the'va't to assist in lifting and turning overthe 'milled curd-in the vattopernit the escape oflgas fand whey. Thisfork eliminated much of the back breaking manual labor of forking thecur'd after -it `had been milled. In the makingbfgranulated'ciird, thecurd cannot be allowed to mat after it has been cut with curd knives.Formerly this was prevented by means of sti ring-bymanualieaiis. Theobject -of the present-'invention is 'to 'combine with the bottom forksa means built into or attached to the arms of the fork so as to beoperated thereby and thus further eliminate manual labor in the makingof a granulated type of cheese curd.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of my improved curd treating apparatus,parts being broken away and partsbeing shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed horizontal sectional View taken on the line 3 3 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a detailed elevation View of a part of one of the fork arms;

Fig. 5 is a detailed elevation View similar to Fig. 4 showing certainmodifications;

Fig. 6 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 6 8 ofFig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a detailed vertical sectional view taken on the line 'I-'i ofFig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a detailed front elevation view of parts shown in Fig. 4,parts being broken away.

Referring to the drawings, the curd treating device comprises arotatable support I0 upon which a head II is detachably and adjustablymounted by a frictional fit or other suitable f means of adjustment. Thesupport I0 as in the aforementioned patent is mounted on a carriage I2movable back and forth on an overhead track I3 while the support isbeing rotated.

Arms I4 are secured to the head Il and incline 2 radialiy outwardly landdet/'inwardly ftterefiioiiai'te a poiiit 15 above the bott'om of ithecurd vat fIlB and extend 'dottitftvardly and 'ait 'ain :obtuse j i'cil'efrom the general plane `of the armsto proiiide a section I1 from whichan 'end jpor-tion I8 liricliiejs slightly 'd'fifl'nL lat lr'ight an'gles'ft'o advancing-side fof 'said-arms v -v Each fork-or blade 1'9 --isK'of ig-re'ater length `than lti/i'dth Iand being ipivot'ed at loneYend, its -loe'rter of A'gravity iis beyond the pivot, soVtli'atitsforward "end fi's gravitationally in contact with the bottomo'f the 'c'he'e'se 4vat ian'd, wli-i-le li511 iopation, passes along'the bottom 'df #said vat :and yalso :to :some extent alb'ove lthesari-fe fand plows, forks For shovels the curd body in curvilinear linesas it progresses back and forth in a rotary movement from end to end ofthe vat. As the blades travel in a circular or curved path from side toside of the vat, the forward end of each blade, in contact with thebottom of the vat, passes under the curd and close to the sides of thevat, thus ploughing the curd from the bottom and sides of the vat,lifting it bodily, after which the curd rolls off and away from bothsides of the curved line of travel of the blade, and almost immediatelythe curd is again ploughed up and turned over by a succeeding fork. Thusthe curd is continually lifted from the bottom and turned over as longas the support I0 is rotated.

The above described operation of the lifting blades I9 is similar tothat of the previously referred to patent, but in practice it has beenfound that this action has to be supplemented by further treatment ofthe curd to prevent it from matting if a granulated type of cheese curdis desired, and for this purpose the shape of the arms I4 have beenmodified so as to provide the sections I1 which are either provided witha plurality of tines 22 secured directly thereto to form a rake Whosetines extend downwardly and slightly rearwardly from the trailing edgeof each section, as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, 5 and 7, or said tines may besecured to a separate bar or back 23 which in turn is detachably securedto the section I'I by U-shaped metal clamping clips 24 whose legs havebayonet joint type slots 25 receiving a clamping screw 26 drawn intoclamping engagement therewith by a wing nut 21.

It will be noted that Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings are composite viewsshowing both the built in and detachable rake's, but it will beunderstood that either one or the other of these rake forms is used inpractice.

With the above arrangement as the arms I4 are rotated and movedlengthwise of the vat, the forks I9 lift the curd from the bottom of thevat and from the sides, and the rakes formed by the tines 22 passthrough the curd thus lifted and also through that portion of the curdout of the sphere of action of the blades I9, and thus the curds arekept separated and are-effectively prevented from matting together. Therakes produce a greater agitating effect than is possible with theblades I9 alone.

I desire it to be understood that this invention is not to be limited toany particular form or arrangement of parts except in so far as suchlimitations are included in the claims.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a cheese making apparatus, a revoluble overhead support having aplurality of radially disposed arms having downwardly extendingoutwardly diverging main portions and lower end portions incliningfurther outwardly and downwardly from the main portions of said arms, aloosely pivoted forking blade carried by the outer end of said lower endportions of each arm, and rake tines on the said lower end portions ofsaid arms and projecting downwardly therefrom into the same horizontalplanes as those traversed by said blades and acting in conjunction withsaid blades to prevent matting of the curd.

2. In a cheese making apparatus, a revoluble overhead support having avertically disposed axis and having a plurality of radially disposedarms having downwardly extending outwardly diverging main portions andlower end portions diverging further outwardly from the axis of saidsupport and also downwardly at a slight inclination relative to thehorizontal, a forking blade mounted at the outer end of said lower endportion of each arm, and rake means detachably mounted on said lower endportions of said arms having tines disposed in the same horizontalplanes as those traversed by said blades.

3. In a cheese making apparatus, a revoluble overhead support having aplurality of radially disposed arms having downwardly extendingoutwardly diverging main portions and lower end portions, each includinga section angled outwardly and forwardly from said main portion of thearm as considered in its direction of rotation and also includingdownwardly from the main body of the arm at an acute angle from thehorizontal and having a forwardly directed angled end, a forking bladeloosely pivotally mounted at its back end in said angled end, and rakemeans on said lower end portion of each arm with the tines projectingrearwardly and downwardly from the trailing side of said end portion inthe same horizontal planes as those traversed by said blade.

EDWARD C. DAMROW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 64.614 Wise et al May '7, 18671,611,854 Damrow Dec. 21, 1926 1,728,637 Stoelting Sept. 17, 19292,086,353 Damrow July 6, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 8,092Netherlands Nov. 15, 1921 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,488,053November 15, 1949 EDWARD C. DAMROW It is hereby certified that errorappears in the printed specification of the above numbered patentrequiring correction as follows:

Column 4, line 14, for the Word including read inclining;

and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correctiontherein that the same may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Oiice.

Signed and sealed this 7th day of Merch, A. D. 1950.

[SEAL] THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Gommz'ssz'oner of Patents.

